Aspen Medical has delivered a case for rethinking virtual care in defence, disaster and remote contexts.
“These aren’t just lessons in innovation, they’re strategic imperatives. If we want to deliver rapid, scalable health responses in operational environments, virtual care must be part of the solution,” Aspen Medical Chief Medical Officer, Dr Katrina Sanders, stated.
Sanders has challenged traditional assumptions that virtual care is only suited to low-acuity settings. With over two decades of experience delivering health solutions in austere and operationally complex environments, Sanders identified four cross-cutting enablers that could underpin success in these environments: workforce readiness, clinical quality, clinical governance, and security and privacy.
“Virtual care isn’t just a stopgap or convenience solution. When embedded within a structured operational framework, it becomes a critical enabler of safe, effective care—even in conflict zones, fragile states and isolated deployments,” Sanders stated.
According to Aspen Medical and Sanders, these pillars are not theoretical; they have been tested in environments ranging from the Lihir Medical Centre in Papua New Guinea to virtual support lines handling acute mental health crises and conflict-zone deployments like Ukraine.
Key operational highlights included:
- An 81 per cent reduction in aeromedical evacuations and an 84 per cent increase in workforce participation in clinical education at Lihir, demonstrating the role of virtual care in remote areas.
- Data-driven oversight on Aspen Medical’s virtual triage and advice lines, improving both patient outcomes and clinician retention, according to the company.
- Cybersecurity protocols that support second-opinion care in conflict zones while protecting sensitive patient data.
Aspen Medical has operationalised virtual care across multiple defence and humanitarian deployments.